From the desk of Chrissy Briggs

Hi fabulous readers!

I’m Chrissy Briggs. If you’ve read Syphon’s Song, then we met oh-so-briefly. I'm a reporter at Rallis Territory’s number one newspaper, The Dispatch. And I’m taking over this issue of Anise Rae’s newsletter.

If you don’t recognize me, no worries. The one night we might have met I was wearing an absolutely killer dress, not this wrinkled suit.

What a night that was! I got the scoop of my life. Or so I thought.

That scoop got me demoted, pushed so far down the ladder that my office is in a janitor’s closet in the basement of the newspaper’s building, complete with shelves of cleaning potions, a vast collection of mops and brooms, and a grimy sink.

That’s the power of the Rallises for you.

(I would tell you all about that scoop, but I've promised not to reveal any spoilers. You’re better off reading it for yourself in Syphon’s Song anyway. It’s currently free at Amazon in the US, but we never know how long that will last. So quickly click over there! And if you loved it, please show that love by leaving a review!)

Anyway, I suppose I should be thankful I have a job at all. The only reason I didn’t get fired was because my story made that newspaper issue sell out everywhere. Never mind that some of the story’s details weren’t quite accurate, and never mind the stress it might have caused certain people. (Trust me. Everyone made out just fine in the end.)

I know it sounds a little ruthless. But there’s a hunger out there for news…the kind of story that does nothing more than fascinate and entertain.

Plus, I have a gift for it. When I’m in perfect tune with my power, I’m always in the right place at the right time for whatever it is that I most need. And as a journalist, I need a story.

Between you and me, I’m a synchronicity mage.

And yes, I know…. According to the Systematics and Scale Manual of Mage Power, “synchronicity” isn’t an official mage type. But, trust me, the Systematics is wrong.

Being a synchronicity mage requires constant openness on my part. My vibes must have the freedom to pull me wherever they want.

Resistance is a bad idea because then my power gets out of sync with my needs.

The last time it happened I was at a staff luncheon, and I was so mad at The-Man-I-Never-Think-About that I wanted to throw my tomato soup at him. Talk about something that would have gotten me fired! Especially since he’s the golden boy around here. He breaks all the important stories. He wins all the journalism awards.

Even the awards that should have been mine.

Like I said, The-Man-I-Never-Think-About. And if I do happen to think of him, I just let those thoughts go with nice deep sigh. I’m quite good at it now, but unfortunately, at that staff luncheon, I held my breath, glared at my tomato soup, and shut down my mage sense and my emotions.

For three weeks after that, every time I went out for a meal (I never cook), the only thing that I got served was tomato soup. It didn’t matter what I ordered. Every single server brought me tomato soup. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every coffee I ordered became tomato soup in a cup.

It was a brutal reminder to stay open, to observe, to receive, to go where my mage power takes me. And it always takes me to the story, to the rumors, to the tattle, the tea.

Of course, following my power to the story is how I got demoted to this closet. I’ll be here until the Rallises’ fury fades over the headlines I’m responsible for.

Ridiculous.

That family needs to calm down already. They have every reason to be happy even if Colonel Vincent Rallis and Lady Bronte Casteel have yet to announce a wedding date.

Nope. No date yet.

But the pair was spotted going on their first road trip. So romantic! Naturally, this reporter knows exactly where they went.

And you, my fabulous reader, get exclusive access to all the details in Syphon’s Song's new bonus epilogue. But if it’s been a while since you’ve read Syphon’s Song, may I recommend a reread of that book first? Click here to download the bonus epilogue.

And do stay tuned for the next Sync-Up. Who knows what story I’ll uncover next!

Sending you good vibes,

Chrissy